1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is related generally to the field of fishing apparatus. It is specifically directed to fishing line dispensers and to display packages for fishing line.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is well known in the prior art to transfer fishing line onto fishing reels from supply spools. A problem with dispensing fishing line from spools has been the inherent awkwardness one person has in accomplishing this task. In the prior art the feeding of the fishing line evenly onto a fishing reel may require two people; one person to hold the rod and rotate the reel and a second person to hold and monitor the spool of fishing line. This is a time consuming task at best. One prior art patent, U.S. Pat. No. 3,957,224 (Smith), provides means for hanging a fishing line dispenser on the fishing rod to dispense line directly onto the reel. The Smith patent uses a flexible webbing to support a pin about which the spool of line rotates. However, the Smith patent has no means for applying friction or drag to the line being dispensed. Therefore, improper tension and tangling of the line being dispensed is still a problem with this prior art.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,141,479 (Dennison), frictional engagement between the spool and the post about which the spool rotates provides drag to the line being dispensed, but the extent of the applied drag is not adjustable.
Other means of providing friction or drag to the line dispensed is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 4,290,223 (Ostenberg). In Ostenberg, a pair of resilient pads are mounted within the container in an opposing posture and are mutually self-biased into engagement. Here the line is threaded from the spool through the mutually opposed resilient pads and away from the container erasing the coil memory of the length of line as it is dispensed.
Problems have been encountered with the above-referenced patents in that although drag may be applied to the line dispensed, in Dennison, use of the apparatus wears away the means of frictional engagement by the post of the spool and in Ostenberg, spool overrun, snailing or back-lashing of the fishing line can still occur during operation. Ostenberg applies friction to the line but not to the spool which remains freely rotatable.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,583,315 (Schreck) provides for the resting together of different sized spools with screw means for holding the multiple spools in a non-rotating manner within the container. The line is pulled out between the peripheries of the reels and are held frictionally by reel skirts.
Apparatus providing for quick and easy loading of fishing line onto a fishing reel without snarling or otherwise entangling the line would be a marked improvement, as well as providing an economical means for packaging spooled line for retail sales.